How you can help patients with MDS or Leukaemia

As you know from reading this blog, Richard and his daughter both have a rare disease called Myelodysplastic Syndrome MDS.Rosalind has had two bouts of chemo in hospital and an unrelated donor transplant of bone marrow, and is doing OK. Richard has that to come if he can get a donor.

The only cure for this blood disorder and often for leukaemia is to have a bone marrow transplant. To have a transplant you need:

• A donor of matching bone marrow, also called stem cells
• Matching blood for transfusions
• Matching platelets - a special type of blood cell which is critical for clotting blood
• A lot of care, drugs and luck

Can you and your friends and family help? In most cases you can by being a donor. 

Giving blood and platelets can normally be organised easily at a hospital near you - ask you GP.

The Anthony Nolan Trust can advise you on whether you can be a bone marrow (stem cell) donor and how to go about it. The Anthony Nolan trust can send you a small container, you 'spit' into it, and send it back - this can be used to see if you match someone to be a potential bone marrow donor - nothing could be easier. Giving the bone marrow is done these days by filtering your blood - so is not as intrusive as it used to be.

In the USE try the National Marrow Donor Program

Please click here to save a life. It may not be ours, but ...

The MDS UK Patient Support group is excellent. To help the UK MDS support group click here If you live in the USA and want the MDS Foundation there  click here
 
To give funds to the MDS charity without it costing you a penny while you are shopping online, click here, set up an account and nominate MDS UK Patient Forum as your charity of choice. How it works etc is shown on this web site.  Or you could support your own favorite Cancer charity through this facility